Marta and family

It was good to see Marta's brother Moges and his wife Donica. We are all so thankful for his steady recovery from a stroke. He continues with physical therapy. - Nancy

A visit to the impressive U.S. Capitol Building

We had our annual visit to the Mall in Washington D.C. This time we decided to visit he U.S. Capitol. We took the Metro, had a tour and then finished-up downtown with a visit to Mark's office.

Just as we were preparing to walk to the Metro station to return home, rain commenced in earnest, with thunder and lightning. When the rain finally let-up a bit we walked to the station, only to learn that apparently the electrical storm had caused a power outage at our Forest Glen Station, disabling the elevators which would take us to the street level and our car. So we boarded a jam-packed train and rode all the way to the Wheaton Station where we took a bus back to our car. Nothing like an adventure! - Nancy

Sunday in Silver Spring

It was a fun day with Mark, Marta and the boys. Marta had a lovely afternoon "tea" with her mother, aunt and cousin. We took a picture of the Mothers with their children even though it wasn't Mother's Day.
Daniel and Eli played the piano for us.









Then we headed for the pool and the boys had fun swimming and we all got cooled off from the hot day.

The grandsons are growing up

Of course the best part of being in Silver Spring is time with Daniel, Eli and Micah and their parents. Since we don't get to see them often we enjoy the time together. I took this family picture of of them after church on June 27. - Nancy

Good to see friends

One of the treats of being in Silver Spring is the chance to see my friend from Kenya days, Connie Buford. We have our annual picture and time to catch up. The second picture includes Ron and Connie's partner Charlie. - Nancy

Several Birthday Celebrations for Nancy

Nancy managed to get in several birthday celebrations. The first one was our last night in Lucerne at a lovely restaurant on the river flowing out of Lake Lucerne.


The second one was at Mark and Marta's with the boys and a monopoly game which Grandma won.













The third celebrations was a lovely dinner out with Ron and Mark and Marta. - Nancy

Lucerne -- our last stop in Switzerland

Our last two days in Switzerland were spent in Lucerne -- and the weather continued cloudy, rainy and cool. (Maybe it's the Lord's mercy after all that heat and humidity in Kuala Lumpur!) And, no, that's not the "Swan of Tuonela," but it is one of the swans on the river flowing out of Lake Lucerne. Since our full day in Lucerne was a Sunday, and since we discovered an international church just a couple blocks from our hotel, we attended their 10:30 a.m. service and then hiked along the old city wall, built in 1386, and then walked to the famous "Lion of Lucerne"
that Mark Twain called "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world." (The sculpture commemorates the Swiss mercenary soldiers who died in the French Revolution defending Louis XVI.)
Another impressive sight in Lucerne is the Kapellbrucke, the Chapel Bridge that dates from the 14th century but was largely destroyed by a fire in 1993, and then rebuilt. The bridge contains intricate paintings depicting the history of Lucerne (pix below).

Our last night in Switzerland was spent in one of Lucerne's nice restaurants where we'd made reservations on the previous evening for a table by a window looking out on the river. So, in spite of not seeing much sun, and very few of the Alps, we were glad we included Switzerland in our journey back to the U.S. (We're sure that Lake Lucerne was not "presenting her best face" due to the cloudy weather, but on a Sunday there were still sailboats to be seen.) - rw

Where the trains run on time ...

It sure happens in Switzerland! On Saturday, 6/19, we took the train from Zermatt to Lucerne with a 4-hour stopover in Bern. (The beautiful city of Bern is pictured above.) It was amazing how the arrivals and departures from each city along the way perfectly matched the printed timetables! And, since all of the trains are electric, the ride is both quiet and comfortable.

In Bern we left our two pieces of luggage in a locker at the train station and set out on foot to explore the old city. One sight not to miss is the Zytglogge, the clock tower that was once part of the city gate, 1191-1256. On the hour the clock not only strikes but shows a series of strange looking figures who parade around on something of a lazy susan. (Because of its uniqueness, the clock tower is almost as famous as a similar tower which we saw years ago in Prague.)

After the clock tower we continued toward the river and saw Bern's "bear den" (an outdoor enclosure that houses several bears), and then climbed a hill to walk through the rose garden.

Bern's kirche (church) towers over 300' above much of the city and was built in Gothic style in the 15th century. The ornate scene pictured below is "The Last Judgment," that actually portrays a mayor of Bern being ushered into heaven while, to the right, the mayor of Zurich is sent to hell! - rw

It's the Matterhorn!

Yes, folks, the clouds and fog did part for a few moments so that Ron and Nancy could actually see one of Switzerland's most famous peaks!

We arrived in Zermatt by train on the 17th and checked-into a very nice hotel. On our full day in Zermatt we enjoyed a brief hike and then took the "Matterhorn Glacier Paradise" cablecar up to a viewpoint, mostly surrounded by fog, at over 12,000'. On the way up we had plenty of spectacular views -- in spite of the fact that much was still obscured by fog and clouds.
Zermatt is certainly a tourist town, and is a huge ski resort in the winter months. There seem to be scores of hotels and restaurants, and many shops that cater to those with money. The main street is often full of folks wandering around. Zermatt is supposed to be a "vehicle-free town"; however, many hotels have small electric carts to haul luggage, and construction companies are able to use trucks. Also, while hiking we were passed by jeeps and a 4-wheeler. In spite of trying to stay out of the way of moving vehicles, Zermatt has been a fun place to be, and much of the beauty certainly glorifies the Lord! (The praise-note pictured was on a sign at the top of the Matterhorn cablecar trip.) - rw

To Murren

After breakfast at Obersteinberg we headed-out into the fog for our “drop” of 3000’ on a nicely switch-backed trail to Stechelberg where we could catch the bus back to Lauterbrunnen. With many stops for Nancy to take pictures of wildflowers, we made the downhill hike in 2 hours, 45 minutes (compared to the 4.25 hrs. going up).

On the way to Lauterbrunnen we got off the bus to see Trummelbach Falls—an incredible series of cataracts that plummet their way down hundreds of feet in a channel so narrow that it looks like the waterfall is mostly inside a mountain! For a fee of 11 Swiss francs, one can take a “cable elevator” up a couple hundred feet to gain access to tunnels blasted out of the rock that lead to one after another of the 10 different cataracts. Quite impressive!

When we reached Murren by cable car and train we found the whole delightful village fogged-in. Note Nancy standing in front of our hotel, the Hotel Jungfrau. - rw

The Trek to Obersteinberg

On Tuesday, June 15th, our planned trek called for a 17 km. walk from Wengen down into the valley at Lauterbrunnen, and then up the valley a long ways until we would find a trail that ascended steeply out of the canyon 3000’ up to a hotel with no electricity at Obersteinberg. Well, since the weather again was threatening, we decided to shorten the trip as much as possible by taking the train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen, and then a bus to Stechelberg before setting off on foot. The climb out of the canyon was exhausting, but the rain never came and the cloud-cover made hiking more pleasant. A 3-hour hike turned into a tad more than 4 hours, but we did make it! The accommodations were rustic (no showers or hot water or electricity, & the toilet down the hall [but the kitchen was kind enough to bring us a pitcher of hot water so we could wash-up!]), but dinner was delicious, and heavy down comforters kept us warm all night.

As the pictures will show, we did catch occasional views of some peaks, were impressed with spectacular waterfalls, and did spend some time outside in the afternoon sitting on a bench watching the fog drift in and out over the peaks. (Note my picture of Nancy marveling at the view when literally nothing could be seen but fog!) – rw

Day Two in the Bernese Oberland

When we got up on the second morning in Grindelwald it was raining. That gave us a distinct clue that the 17-18 km. all-day hike that had been planned for us from Grindelwald to Wengen might not be the best plan!

So … instead of sending our two suitcases ahead to Wengen and setting out on foot, we stayed dry, took the train to Wengen, left our luggage at the hotel, and then, as the weather had improved considerably, we decided to take the train to Kleine Scheidegg with the thought of hiking back down to Wengen. However, since the train station at Kleine Scheidegg is the departure point for the Jungfraujoch, the tourist train that takes one up to 11,333 ft., the highest train station in Europe—with fabulous views of all the peaks in good weather—Nancy decided we should “gamble” that the clouds would clear by the time we got there. Alas, no such luck! But, we did enjoy standing out in the snow, watching the fog come-and-go, with occasional glimpses of one of the peaks.

After the Jungfraujoch and the return to Kleine Scheidegg we did set-out on foot for Wengen and did see some great scenery. However, we missed the desired trail at one point, set-off cross-country for a couple hundred yards, found a gravel road that looked promising, only to find no directional signs for Wengen. After walking downhill on the road for 10-15 minutes we had such serious doubts that we actually turned around, reversed our course for a while until we hailed a passing jeep (one of only a couple vehicles on the road), and learned that the road did indeed end-up in Wengen. So, we turned around again and dragged into town pretty tired, making it to the hotel where we cleaned-up and had a delicious dinner. – rw

From KL to the Swiss Alps ...

After an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur on Qatar Airlines (through Doha), we arrived in Zurich on Saturday morning, June 12th. Swiss Rail took us quite efficiently to Grindelwald in the Bernese Oberland by Noon after changing trains in Bern and Interlaken.
Due to fog and low clouds we were presented with no views at all of the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau, normally visible in all their splendor from our 4th floor hotel room in Grindelwald. Since we had two nights here, we spent our “layover day” trying-out our hiking legs in preparation for three straight days of hiking about 18 km. each day on our self-guided trek from Grindelwald to Wengen, to Obersteinberg, and then to Murren.

In spite of not seeing the mountains and experiencing a few intermittent showers, we have been impressed with the gorgeous countryside dotted with beautiful chalets. Stay tuned! More later … - rw